Visions of Possibility
by Triscribe
Summary: "The sorcerer had a trick up his sleeve - magical baubles that enveloped each of us in a sort of fantasy world, one where we were surrounded by love and happiness." When the shimmering barrier fell away, Arthur and the knights were instantly assaulted by the sound of Merlin's heartbroken sobbing and a maelstrom of wild magic.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Blinking his eyes open, Arthur had a moment of confused panic. To all appearances, it seemed he was lying in his own bed, within his own chambers, with Gwen still slumbering peacefully beside him. But the king could have sworn mere moments ago that he and his men were fighting a sorcerer within a system of caves in the forest outside the city.

"Mm, Arthur?" Turning, his gaze met Guinevere's half-lidded eyes, and bit back his unease.

"Good morning." He murmured back. Gwen grinned, before pushing back the covers in order to stretch out her limbs. Over the next few minutes, as his wife went about her usual morning routine, Arthur's panic slowly melted away, until he could hardly remember what was wrong in the first place.

"You know you can't stay in bed all day," Gwen told him sternly as she pulled on a purple gown with gold embroidery. "We're expected to have breakfast with the King and Queen soon."

And just like that, Arthur bolted upright.

"The who and _who?!"_ He blurted, blood racing.

"Your _parents,_ Arthur. Honestly, did my brother and the other knights ply you with too much drink last evening?" Stunned into silence, Arthur didn't resist in the slightest as Gwen hauled him upright and began tugging proper clothing on for the day. It wasn't until the two of them were walking arm in arm down the hall that his mind returned to some form of coherency.

"Guinevere," he said slowly. "Humor me. Who all is going to be at this breakfast?"

The woman rolled her eyes at him, but answered nonetheless. "Uther and Ygraine, of course, and Morgana, Ulvaine and Elizabeth. Elyan and our father were invited, but they had to decline, what with all the orders coming into the shop lately. Now, don't misinterpret me, tournaments are wonderful for business, but sometimes I wish Dad didn't have to deal with the rush as everyone wants their weapons and armor in top shape..." She continued to chatter on, not noticing that Arthur had drifted off after hearing his mother's name.

Something was wrong here. Very wrong. But try as he might, Arthur couldn't fight the impulse to just go along with it for the meantime.

At the next corridor intersection, three more people dressed in simple finery joined the pair. Arthur recognized Morgana, and had to fight the impulse to draw a sword on her then and there. Fortunately, the other two were enough to distract him.

One was a boy in his late teens, with an identical build and blue eyes to Arthur, but had hair the same dark brown color as Uther, before it turned grey. Then there was a slim girl, younger than the other stranger, with long blonde hair the same golden shade as Arthur's, and warm hazel eyes.

It was the girl who smiled at him, and said, "Morning, brother."

He would have tripped were it not for Gwen's steady presence beside him.

"Oh dear, not suffering another hangover are you?" Morgana shot him a teasing smirk, one which made her look so much like the almost-sister he'd grown up with that Arthur's heart ached.

"Honestly, 'Gana, can you blame him?" The boy joked, nudging her playfully with his shoulder. "The way those dignitaries were carrying on at dinner last night? I'd have drowned myself in alcohol to try and escape them too!"

"Ah, except the Queen doesn't allow you more than two glasses of wine at a meal, does she Ulvaine?" He sent a swiping punch at her arm, which Morgana easily evaded with a laugh. Huffing, the younger girl stepped between them with a pointed glare.

"We're going to be late you lot keep that up." She turned her nose up in the air and continued on down the hallway.

"Uh-oh, looks like we made Elizabeth mad," the boy, Ulvaine, muttered, before leaning in Arthur's direction. "You'll help me make it up to her later, right? Everyone knows you two are the closest out of the lot of us."

"Uh, of course." Arthur was still trying to wrap his head around the idea that Morgana was still her old self, let alone that he had more siblings. Gwen was starting to look at him with concern, which he tried to dispel with a reassuring grin and squeeze to her arm.

"Maybe I should have left you in bed after all." The former maid said.

"Oh, ha ha. You're funnier than Merlin-"

"Who?"

Again, Arthur nearly tripped over his own feet. "What do you mean, who?"

"Well, I haven't heard you mention that name before. Is he one of the knights?"

Arthur didn't even have time to laugh over _that_ particular notion when they arrived in the small dining hall reserved for the royal family. And then his attention was totally consumed by the middle-aged woman busy greeting his supposed siblings with warm hugs and kisses to their brows. Releasing Gwen and stepping forward on an impulse, Arthur carefully returned the woman's embrace and ducked his head so she could more easily administer her kiss.

"Good morning, Mother." It came out barely louder than a whisper, but Queen Ygraine still smiled widely at him for it.

"And the same to you, my dear boy," she replied, before turning to give the same treatment to Guinevere. Swept up in a happy daze to have been shown the maternal love he'd longed for all his life, it took a moment for Arthur to recover himself, and take his usual seat. His father, looking happier and healthier than than Arthur could ever recall seeing him before, sat to his left at the head of the table. Ygraine took the chair opposite Arthur, with Morgana and Ulvaine in the next two. Gwen gracefully sat to Arthur's right, with Elizabeth beyond her. Seconds later, servants appeared around them, serving the royals a variety of breakfast foods, from fresh fruit to sausage and ham to warm porridge and toast.

"Well!" Uther spoke once everyone was well into their food. "Now that we're all properly awake and aware, I want to make certain everyone remembers the plans for today. Arthur, Ulvaine, I expect you each to personally inspect the tournament grounds and ensure everything is being set up properly."

"Yes, Father." The two both chorused.

"Morgana, you will be helping Ygraine oversee the planning staff in regards to the banquets and celebrations we'll be holding over the following weeks."

"Of course, sir." Ygraine favored the younger woman with warm smile.

"And that leaves Guinevere and myself to entertain the visiting ladies, right Father?"

"Indeed, Elizabeth. I will be meeting with the various lords and barons as we discuss upcoming petitions for the Council." Uther shot pointed looks at both his sons. "And I hope that you two do not become used to my providing a convenient excuse for you to avoid such gatherings." Ulvaine let out a snort, and Arthur was hard pressed not to do the same.

Clearly, this variation of his father was much more lenient than the one he was used to - the one who'd died not all that long ago. The thought was enough to remind Arthur that none of this could be real.

Which, was a pity in its own way. He was quite enjoying this different take on his family, and wouldn't mind staying longer. Perhaps on the tour of the tournament grounds, he could get to know Ulvaine a bit better, find out what he could have had in a brother...

Suddenly, there was a resounding _crack_ that shook the room, but Arthur was the only one to notice. He looked about in alarm, which changed to horror when Ulvaine and Elizabeth both vanished. Across the table from him, Ygraine cried out in pain, clutching at her belly as sweat began to pour down her features. She too disappeared into thin air, while Morgana grew pale and disheveled, an evil snarl marring her features. Uther's face hardened, laughter lines turning to those of stress, before he suddenly gasped and went limp.

All around Arthur, the castle walls were crumbling and collapsing, leaving only darkness beyond them. Morgana and Uther each faded into nothingness, until Gwen was the only one remaining beside him. Her hand briefly rested on his shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze, before the entire world was wiped away.

Gasping, Arthur returned to himself in an instant, kneeling on a cold cavern floor, Leon grasping him in the same spot that Guinevere had been just a second before. As he raised his head, Arthur noted that all his knights were surrounding him with expressions of sympathy.

"Wh- what happened?"

"The sorcerer had a trick up his sleeve." Leon said grimly. "Magical baubles that, when thrown, enveloped each of us in a sort of fantasy world, one where we were surrounded by love and happiness."

"Bloody awful coming back out to the real world and knowing it was all fake," Gwaine piped up, his usual good humor barely covering a voice like ice. "Just for that, I'm going to make sure this bastard suffers before we kill him."

"We're sorry for your loss, Sire." Percival gently added, as Arthur got to his feet.

"What do you mean by that?"

Elyan cleared his throat, suddenly anxious. "We could see. Those of us who first got out of our own bubbles, we could see what events were going on in the others."

The king closed his eyes with a wince - they'd all seen, then, his parents and his siblings.

"Don't feel bad, sire." Leon told him. "I think I can honestly say we all wanted back the families we've lost."

Nodding, Arthur straightened and began to take stock of their surroundings. Around the floor were the shattered pieces of the different 'bubbles' that had held them captive, along with scorch marks from the fireballs the sorcerer had been throwing about previously. It was then that the royal realized that there was someone else missing besides the enemy.

"Where's Merlin?"

 _A/N: Ahem. So._

 _I admit, I've never_ actually _watched BBC's Merlin, but I have read a great deal of ff stories for it, as well as read episode descriptions of the entire series and watched whatever clips I could find on YouTube. Hopefully, those sources are enough for me to have written a decent story that you will enjoy._

 _This little story's already written, with two more chapters I promise to post over the coming weekend. I've also got a few more ideas in the works, but would like to see how well this piece is received before sharing them._

 _Thanks for reading!_

 _-Triscribe_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"One of these days, Elyan, I'm going to figure out how to make you wake earlier than my third attempt." The man's eyes flew open at the amused voice he hadn't heard in a decade.

"Mum...?" Sure enough, when he rolled over to stare at the entrance to his room, the grey-haired woman with a wealth of laugh wrinkles was smirking at him.

"He speaks!" She cheered. "Come on now, you have knight training up at the castle this morning, so come eat while the food's still warm." With that, the woman stepped back into the main part of the house, not noticing her son's absolutely astounded expression.

Elyan's mother had died when he was sixteen. Her loss was the main reason he'd abandoned his father and sister, leaving in order to get away from the constant reminders. The fact that she was now _here_ and _alive_ and _fussing at him to get up_ had to be a dream.

A really, really wonderful one.

In a heartbeat, Elyan had thrown off his blanket and grabbed for the clothes sitting nearby. Trousers and an overshirt were yanked on, followed by leather boots and a vest, and then he was out the door dashing towards the kitchen area. His mother started to turn around in surprise, but that was only until Elyan grabbed her in a tight embrace.

"Elyan!" She gasped. "What is it? Is something the matter?"

He merely laughed, pulling back just enough to look her in the eyes. "No, nothing at all. I'm just really glad to see you." The man gained a bemused chuckle in return.

"Well then, since you seem to be in high spirits this morning, help yourself to breakfast and then get ready for the day. Your father's already off at the forge - he's packing up finished orders this morning, but will probably need your help with the new work this afternoon, no matter what the old coot protests..." Grinning, Elyan sat himself down and proceeded to just enjoy being in his mother's presence.

"...And I hope to get some time later to go up and visit your sister at the castle - I'm still not used to the idea of my little girl being Queen, but I have to say she's adjusted quite well to it..."

The spoon froze halfway to Elyan's mouth.

Gwen. Queen. Married to Arthur, the King. Whom Elyan had been following into a cave before this. One where a sorcerer was hiding, lying in wait for them...

"Elyan? Sweetheart, whatever's the matter?"

He tried to answer, but didn't get very far before a _cracking_ sound shook the world around him, and then his mother vanished.

"NO!" Lurching upright, the man only managed to stagger a couple paces forward before the house vanished, replaced by the uneven textures of a cavern. Elyan collapsed to his knees, gasping with both physical and emotional pain. Next to him, the shattered remnants of some bauble glinted mockingly in the torchlight. Eventually, he was able to get ahold of himself and look around.

There were four large orbs hovering throughout the cave, each beside a clear crystal sitting on the ground. Once back on his feet, Elyan moved to the nearest for a closer look. Within the orb, he could make out a scene that wrenched at his heartstrings:

It was Percival, cheerfully strolling down a forest path surrounded by several people of similar size and coloring. Two were an elderly couple, likely his parents. The other three ranged in age around the knight - an older woman and man, as well as a younger girl. There were also a pair of toddlers held carefully in his friend's arms, probably the children of his elder siblings. Percival was happily entertaining the little ones, his expression so cheerful that Elyan felt horrible about what he had to do.

With only a moment's hesitation, he stomped on the crystal.

Inside the orb, Percival's joyous expression turned to horror when the toddlers he'd been carrying vanished, followed by the family members around him suddenly collapsing in pain before their bodies disappeared as well.

Not a minute later, he was consoling his distraught friend once the man was released from his magical prison. It took a while, but eventually Elyan was able to get him collected and upright as they surveyed the remaining bubbles.

"Right then," Percival sighed. "Let's get them out."

Leon wasn't too hard to return to the real world when he was released - he'd been dragged away from family that were, for the most part, still alive, even if he hadn't seen any of them in years. Gwaine was another matter - his make-believe world had included a still living father, a family not in poverty, and like Percival, nieces and nephews to be played with. In the end, it took a forceful slap from Leon in order to restore some sense to the man, followed by a promise to allow Gwaine whatever revenge he wanted from the sorcerer responsible for all their heartache.

Finally, it was time to release Arthur from what had to be a wonderful reality - one where both his parents still lived, Morgana clearly hadn't turned against them, and there were a pair of younger Pendragons to share responsibility with. The king's grief-stricken expression when he came back to them was almost enough to break their hearts all over again.

And then came the words that had Elyan mentally kicking himself.

"Where's Merlin?"

Instantly, all four knights were whirling about in a belated effort to locate the king's manservant, but it wasn't a simple case of merely over-looking him - the younger man really was gone.

"Perhaps he was able to flee before the sorcerer caught him with one of the baubles, Sire?" Leon suggested, clearly hoping someone would lend credence to the idea. They all knew, though, that the chances of Merlin running away while they remained caught were next to nothing.

"More likely that the idiot did something to lure the man off, and keep him from attacking us while we were helpless." Arthur growled. There were only two passages leading into the cavern, and he started hurrying towards the one opposite that which they'd originally entered through. "Come on. We need to make sure he's still alive and in one piece."

"You do realize that you're not allowed to then kill him yourself if that's the case, right?"

"Yes, thank you, Gwaine."

Elyan and Leon grabbed up the torches they'd dropped earlier, which still had enough fuel on them to indicate that not too much time had passed since the initial fight. They all fell into silence as they headed down the tunnel, ears straining for any sounds of combat or - though it was awful to consider - torture. If Merlin had been caught after leading the sorcerer on a wild goose chase, then there was every possibility the young man would be subjected to terrible pain before being killed.

The reality, though, proved much worse.

When the knights entered another cavern, they froze in shock. The sorcerer was lying dead on the floor, his neck clearly broken. What was truly astounding, though, was the massive orb hovering in the center of the cavern. It was glowing brightly, the images within much larger and stronger than any of the others they'd been trapped within.

Merlin was clearly shown inside of it, grinning as he entered a well-kept garden of flowers, herbs and vegetables. A middle-aged woman walked up to him with an identical expression, the pair hugging happily.

"That's his mother, Hunith." Arthur murmured, uneasily watching. "And- _Balinor?!"_

None of the others recognized the older man who appeared in the scene, also embracing Merlin, but they all knew the name of the last Dragonlord. As for what he was doing in Merlin's fantasy, that was answered easily enough when the man kissed Hunith, clearly to their friend's embarrassment.

But then two youths appeared, a girl and boy who shared enough features with the trio to leave no doubt as to the family relationships. As the parents hugged and kissed their other children, another woman arrived behind Merlin. She was pretty, close to his age and balancing a dark-haired, blue eyed toddler on her hip. Beaming, Merlin shared a brief kiss with this woman, before taking the little girl and hugging her close. The child clearly demanded something, and to the knights' collective shock, Merlin's eyes flashed gold as he summoned a small pile of leaves to his hand.

Holding them before the toddler's face, Merlin spoke another spell, and then the leaves turned into butterflies which fluttered above his palm. The little girl clearly squealed with delight, her chubby fingers grasping at the pretty insects before they flew away. Balinor approached then, tickling the child under her chin before speaking with Merlin.

"Enough of this!" Arthur suddenly snapped, striding forward angrily. None of the knights could stop him before the king stomped downward, shattering the bauble that kept his manservant imprisoned.

Within the orb, a fierce wind picked up as the sky went dark. The toddler in Merlin's arms vanished at the same time as the youths. He cried out as Balinor and the young woman staggered, bloodstains blooming across their clothing before both dropped to the ground. Hunith faded away, and Merlin howled. His eyes went from deep blue to burning gold, and tendrils of magical power poured out of his hands, reaching into the corpses beside him. There was no restoring the vision of happiness, however, and soon enough the bubble shattered.

When the shimmering barrier fell away, Arthur and the knights were instantly assaulted by the wretched sound of Merlin's heartbroken sobs, as well as a maelstrom of wild magic. Wind ripped through the cavern, screaming along with the servant, as streams of gold crackled through the air. The entirety of the stone around them rumbled as though in despair as well, and it was all anyone could do to keep to their feet.

Arthur stumbled towards Merlin, eventually making it through the swirling winds to rest a hand on the younger man's shoulder. Instantly, the terrible display of power faded, and when the king knelt he pulled Merlin into a tight embrace. All the time, the servant kept weeping, his words full of more pain than even Percival's had been:

"Bring them back, please, Freya please, Father, it's my fault, take me instead, just please bring them _back_..."

Eventually, he went limp in Arthur's arms, exhaustion delivering him to blessed unconsciousness. It was only then that the knights hesitantly approached, standing in a half circle around their king and his manservant.

Who, apparently, was the son of a Dragonlord and had magic.

"So what happens now?" Gwaine asked bluntly.

 _A/N: Hee! I'm glad to see all the interest this has gained since last night! Thanks for reading, folks, and double thanks to those of you who left reviews. Next chapter will be out tomorrow, and then on Sunday I plan to post the start of another story featuring our favorite dragon hatchling and the young Dragonlord she keeps pestering to insanity - hope to see you all back again for that!_

 _-Tri_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Quiet murmurs pulled Arthur from slumber, dragging the young king into the world of wakefulness. Leon looked at him from across the campfire, gaze anxiously flicking in Merlin's direction and back. The younger man was cocooned between Arthur and Gwaine, not having woken or stirred since his collapse in the cave a few hours before.

Realizing that it was in fact Merlin currently muttering in his sleep, Arthur quickly sat up and leaned over to listen, hoping for a sign that his friend was waking up.

What he heard instead caused the king to close his eyes in pain.

"Father... Merriath... Medric... Freya... _Hilde..."_

"What's he saying?" Leon asked from a few feet away.

"Names," Arthur said numbly. "Names of the family he didn't have." Despite a reputation towards thick-headedness, the young royal was perfectly able to make the same observations as any of his knights. He saw how the daughter and younger siblings Merlin never had simply vanished, whereas Balinor and the young woman present in the bubble were felled by wounds they sustained. The Dragonlord's death, Arthur had been present for. The unknown girl... He didn't want to think about how Merlin must have lost her.

"Think we should try waking him again?" Gwaine spoke up, revealing that he was awake and aware as well. Arthur didn't answer, but instead went ahead and grasped Merlin's shoulder, gently shaking the younger man.

Eyes that should have been blue snapped open, flared gold, and the next thing Arthur knew he was flat on his back several feet away.

"Whoa!"

"Ack!"

"Oh gods!" Someone scrambled across the stone ground to Arthur's side, anxiously checking him for damage, and it took the addled man a minute to realize it was Merlin. Somehow, it only reassured him that despite having powerful magic, his manservant was still the same old clumsy, accident-prone idiot.

Thrown in opposite directions, Leon was just sitting up, looking stunned, while Gwaine remained in his prone position, shaking with laughter. Elyan and Percival had been woken by the commotion, but were merely staring at the others with confusion, unaware of what had just occurred.

"Arthur, I'm so sorry- that doesn't normally- I didn't mean to- I'm sorry-!" Merlin kept babbling in a panic even as Arthur levered himself upright.

"Oh shut up, you idiot." The king rolled his eyes, then blinked as the younger man clamped his mouth closed and proceeded to stare at him with naked terror. "Merlin. It's fine. _I'm_ fine. Quit acting like I'm a vase you've just shattered."

Gwaine, who'd begun to calm down, burst back into cackles.

"I'm sorry," Merlin murmured again, with such profound sadness this time that Arthur knew he meant more than just the accidental toss.

"We'll discuss it in the morning." He replied sternly, carefully getting to his feet. Leon had also risen, and walked to where Gwaine lay in order to give the other man a light kick to the ribs. Percival took the opportunity to toss another couple of their scavenged logs onto the dwindling fire while Elyan posed the question over what happened. As he listened to Leon explain, Merlin seemed to grow even paler, a detail which did not escape the others.

"It's not that bad, mate, you can stop looking like we're going to skewer you or something." Gwaine tried to reassure the manservant, only for it to backfire. Merlin made a strangled sound in the back of his throat, causing Arthur to fix him with a suspicious gaze.

"Merlin." The king's voice came out softly, but with an authority that forced the younger man to look up at him. "Do you honestly think, after all we've been through together, that any one of us would be willing to attack you without a damn good reason?"

"Having magic _is_ a good enough reason in Camelot." The muttered response caused all of the knights to fall into a tense silence, as Arthur stared at his servant in surprise, then understanding.

"How long have you been practicing it?"

"...All my life." He admitted quietly. "I could move things by magic before I could walk. And I've only gotten more powerful since then." Slowly, but with growing strength, Merlin told them of the things he could do, the foes he'd faced. Arthur could tell there was a lot being left out, but decided that pressing for more could wait until such a time that his servant _wasn't_ afraid of being executed.

"So, by your own admission," the king began as soon as it was clear Merlin had said as much as he was going to. "You've had this power for as long as you can remember, kept it hidden pretty much that entire time, and only used it for the good of Camelot. Correct?"

Merlin gave a shaky nod.

"Then why in the world would we want to kill you for it?"

"Your father-"

"Had his opinions, and shaped the kingdom because of them." Arthur stated. "I have my own, and will alter the laws as I see fit."

Merlin gaped at him. "R-really?"

"Of course really. So quit shaking in your boots, clotpole, nothing's going to happen to you."

Despite all that Arthur and the others tried to reassure him, though, the manservant spent the remainder of the night and a good portion of the next day in a state even more jumpy than usual. It wasn't until Gwaine tried suggesting that he use his magic to pull a prank on the more stuffy Council members, and Arthur pretended to consider sanctioning it, that Merlin returned to something like his usual snarky self.

"So, what happened after we all got caught in those devil-bubbles, anyway?" All their gazes swung in Merlin's direction, who reddened.

"Well... I was keeping out of sight around the corner while you all fought, waiting for a good moment to disguise my own attack against him." Merlin grimaced. "Except, then he threw the orbs, and I wasn't quick enough to block them. He tried to do something to them, I think to make the enchantment permanent, but held off when I threw a blasting spell at him. Just before I followed him from the chamber, I was able to break Elyan's orb, which was closest."

Most of them nodded their acceptance of the story, though the dark-skinned knight gave an exaggerated sigh. "And here I thought I'd manage to overcome the enchantment on my own," he said.

"Not likely." Merlin's eyes became downcast. "From what I saw inside of mine, they were specially designed to generate some new reason for the victim to stay put every time something happened to remind them of the outside world."

"Right... When Gwen asked me 'Merlin who?', I baulked, but then the fantasy introduced me to my mother and I dropped it." It took Arthur a moment to realize Merlin was staring at him intently. "What?"

"Should I be insulted or relieved I wasn't included in your fantasy realm?" The manservant asked, a question that set everyone off chuckling when Arthur rolled his eyes.

"Well, considering that you seem to _cause_ me just as many problems as you _solve_..." The chuckling increased to full-blown laughter, which both Arthur and Merlin joined in on.

They returned to Camelot that evening, and scattered to their own affairs. Leon went to check in with the castle guard while Elyan asked Gwen to have her evening meal with him, and Gwaine dragged Percival down to the tavern for a night of drinking sorrows away. Arthur retired to his chambers, with Merlin following dutifully after.

"We'll make up an account of the fight with the sorcerer to tell the Council tomorrow," the king was saying as he prepared for bed. "I'd rather not have to explain about the baubles, but we'll definitely make sure they know you were responsible for our victory-"

"You don't have to do that, Sire." Merlin quickly said, grabbing up soiled clothing and taking it over to the laundry basket.

Arthur looked at him in surprise. "Of course I do, you _were_ responsible. We just have to change the details of how." When his manservant merely ducked his head, the king frowned. "What's the matter, Merlin?"

"It's n-"

"Don't you dare say nothing."

Merlin glared, but Arthur simply raised an eyebrow and dared him to go on. "Oh alright, have it your way - I've gone so long now trying to avoid being recognized for any of the things I do behind the scenes, putting me in the center of attention just feels, well, wrong. Especially since I need to keep hiding my magic until I'll be accepted by people."

Sighing, Arthur stood and walked over to his servant, delivering a light punch to the younger man's shoulder. "I get it. But we won't bring up anything about the magic, and I promise to make it sound more like you were simply in the right place at the right time as opposed to actually going through any actual plan."

"...Fine."

"Good."

"Clotpole."

"Cabbage-head."

"Prat."

"Idiot."

"You know, I think I'm starting to realize why you weren't included in my fantasy world-" Merlin yelped when Arthur grabbed him in a headlock, roughly digging a fist into his scalp. "Gah!"

"That's what you get, _Mer_ lin-!" Laughing, the king eventually released him - just in time to see Merlin's eyes glow gold, causing a pillow to fly up off the bed and smack Arthur in the face.

"Did you just-?" The incredulous question was cut of when the younger man's expression turned to horror, and he began babbling an incoherent mess of words.

Arthur shut him up by walloping _him_ with the pillow.

By the time that Gwen arrived, not ten minutes later, all the pillows had been snatched up of Arthur's bed and turned into weaponry, quite a few of them lying torn on the floor. She grinned, listening to Arthur and Merlin's banter-mixed-laughter, and left them to it a while longer.

 _A/N: And that's that! Thanks for reading folks, I hope you all enjoyed this little tale as much as I loved writing it! As I said, I'll start posting my Aithusa-centric story tomorrow, and when that's done, it's a toss-up between my mostly-happy AU where magic was never banned in Camelot, and a Next Generation story in which a fair amount of the show's finale didn't happen ("Just this once, EVERYBODY LIVES!"). And opinions on which should be shared first?_

 _-Tri_


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